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22 Pennsylvania Hotels Certified Green HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, December 5, 2002 (ENS) - Twenty-two hotels in Pennsylvania have been certified as "green" by Green Seal, an independent, nonprofit environmental standard-setting and certification organization. Green Seal, based in Washington, DC, is dedicated to protecting the environment by promoting the manufacture and use of environmentally responsible products and services. "The Green Seal program provides participating properties in the lodging industry with ways to attract additional business while lowering costs and helping the environment," said Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) secretary David Hess. "These hotels are setting the bar for the hotel industry by demonstrating to their customers that they are environmentally responsible."
The environmental standard for lodging properties contains 36 criteria in six major facility categories, including: waste minimization, reuse and recycling; energy efficiency; conservation and management; management of fresh water resources; wastewater management, hazardous substances; and environmentally and socially sensitive purchasing policies. Green Seal received a grant from the DEP to identify and certify hotels and motels in seven metropolitan areas of Pennsylvania where much of the official government travel takes place. Those areas are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the Poconos, Harrisburg, Erie, Johnstown and State College. As of this date, 22 hotels have been certified as charter members of the Pennsylvania Green Hotels Program. Each property will receive a lobby certificate to display their Green Seal certified status. The Sheraton Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia was the first Green Sealcertified hotel in the nation. It received its certification on its own prior to DEP's involvement in the program. Employees of Pennsylvania are encouraged to stay and hold meetings at certified properties, when possible, in accordance with Governor Mark Schweiker's Executive Order on greening Commonwealth government. With initial certification complete on the first group of hotels, the Commonwealth will promote the program to all environmentally concerned members of the traveling public. "Since forming the Governor's Green Government Council in March 1998, we have been encouraging all state agencies to incorporate these sustainable practices into the way we build state office buildings and operate state government," said Pennsylvania Department of General Services secretary Kelly Powell Logan. "I also would encourage state employees to use the Green Seal hotels whenever possible." Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All rights reserved. |
A room at the Sheraton Rittenhouse Square Hotel, which calls itself the first "ecosmart" hotel in the United States, combining environmentally responsible and high-tech features (Photo courtesy 